My original post from Saturday in response to this tweet.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">After Gus won tonight, several coaches reached out saying Arkansas’ search feels like a mess. No one knows who is running the search. Needs clear leadership coaches believe in.</p>— FootballScoop Staff (@FootballScoop) <a href="">November 26, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Tweet looks legit to me and makes sense. There are very divided loyalties and interests at play.
Firing Long was the dumbest move I have seen Arkansas make in my lifetime. This search will prove it. As I predicted the day Long was fired, get ready for a disaster along the lines of Dana Altman's hire/resignation. If Long was still here, we would have coaches actually interested and a credible professional they would trust. We would have a legitimate and well-run search. But hell, Arkansas and the south has always been more reactionary than pragmatic. That is why we are an ill-educated and low-wage state. Hell, half (or more) of the people on this board likely never graduated college, much less the UA. But they vote and raise hell. And sadly, that actually matters to the program.
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Nailed it.
Now my new thoughts.
We have this today from Football Scoop and Bo Mattingly.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Arkansas’ search was all over the place. As Bo says, they are trying to corral it <a href="https://t.co/MuuB8Etkdh">https://t.co/MuuB8Etkdh</a> <a href="https://t.co/KBts4HGc5S">https://t.co/KBts4HGc5S</a></p>— FootballScoop Staff (@FootballScoop) <a href="">November 28, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Having served on a D-I Head Coach Search Committee for Head Basketball Coach, I can assure you that this is actually GOOD news. Not because having two search committees for head coach is good; it is not good. The exposure of this shit-show is good because it will embarrass those involved on both sides and force cooperation to some extent. I am sure the powers that be are not going to leave. They should, but they are not. Once they fired Long they exposed their agenda – total control and scorched earth approach. It was stupid. They will not admit it, but it was one of the dumbest moves in the history of Arkansas Athletics.
But what is done is done. The BEST news today was the hiring of a consulting firm to help with the search. This is not good news because it helps one side or the other. It is good news because it will expedite the search and impose privacy on the process. While I prefer an open process, this shit-show is beyond that now. There are coaches that will want to talk, but do not want to piss-off their current employers reaching out to other programs for a promotion. The search committee is not subject to FOIA. The search committee is virtually untraceable with plausible deniability for the University and the coaches they seek. This is a good thing. Ignore the Ole Miss outcome. They likely hired Matt Luke because nobody better wants the job going into NCAA sanctions, so they essentially hired Matt Luke as a 2-3 year interim coach until it blows over. We are not in that boat.
So, where are we today as I sit in my office typing this? Well, I think that Gus is a pipe-dream. He may come, but I cannot imagine that this is true if he makes the BCS. Then again, if he does hate some people at Auburn as much as some say, there is no bigger FU than to quit the team as they go to the BCS. Imagine the drama. But really, it is an irrational decision given that he is a coach and we have to assume his dream is to win a NC. But if he loses to Georgia, he may be back in the game. Maybe that is why the AD stated that she expected a hire within 7-10 days – after the SEC Championship game. THIS makes sense.
So, I still think it has been Gus since they fired Long. I also think they fired Long so that Gus could choose his AD as part of his demands to return to Arkansas and show they were “serious” about getting him back to Arkansas. I think our current AD recognizes this and is willing to hire Gus to show she is “on board” but is also preparing alternatives she would prefer if this blows-up. This is in her interest so that she could look like a savior and get the job permanently if she capitulates to Gus or has a reasonable back-up and saves the day at the end.
In the meantime, we have the shit-show. The NWA mafia and some other monied elites outside NWA seeking Gus and our AD conducting an official search in parallel. Embarrassing and predictable given the build-up, firing of Long, and immediate “I am in Charge” statement from the AD.
One final thought. STOP THE FIRE THE CHANCELLOR TALK. How much stupid has to be done before you figure out you need to stop suggesting stupid things. If you think it is a shit-show now, fire the Chancellor. That won’t just make us the laughingstock of ESPN, but will raise concerns about Academic integrity and institutional control at our campus. The NCAA would have every right to ask if our Athletic priorities are out of control and come look hard at us and our past practices. And if that happens, they will find something. Could be a grade change after some extra-credit was done. Could be free burgers at a local joint. Could be free drinks at a bar. But no program is 100% clean. It is impossible. The only way to stay clean is to keep the NCAA from having a reason to look.
More importantly, Accreditors would be interested in the institutional control. They are usually more concerned about the treatment of faculty, but, like at Texas A&M, they get very concerned when there seems to be political pressures outside the established charter of the school. This causes its own set of problems. So leave the Chancellor alone. Stop being reactionary. Instead, pause and think.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">After Gus won tonight, several coaches reached out saying Arkansas’ search feels like a mess. No one knows who is running the search. Needs clear leadership coaches believe in.</p>— FootballScoop Staff (@FootballScoop) <a href="">November 26, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Tweet looks legit to me and makes sense. There are very divided loyalties and interests at play.
- We have a BOT that wanted a change and fired the AD.
- Now we have an interim AD interested in getting the job and wants to own the process so she can prove she is capabile.
- We have an AD search committee that is currently looking for an AD, adding to the pressure on the interim AD.
- Using history as a guide, we have BOT and donors running behind the scenes trying to get their choice hired.
- We have coaches trying to use us to get extensions and raises from their current employers.
- We have fans more interested in spreading fantasies as fact than seeking good information and unifying the base behind good information.
Firing Long was the dumbest move I have seen Arkansas make in my lifetime. This search will prove it. As I predicted the day Long was fired, get ready for a disaster along the lines of Dana Altman's hire/resignation. If Long was still here, we would have coaches actually interested and a credible professional they would trust. We would have a legitimate and well-run search. But hell, Arkansas and the south has always been more reactionary than pragmatic. That is why we are an ill-educated and low-wage state. Hell, half (or more) of the people on this board likely never graduated college, much less the UA. But they vote and raise hell. And sadly, that actually matters to the program.
______________________________________
Nailed it.
Now my new thoughts.
We have this today from Football Scoop and Bo Mattingly.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Arkansas’ search was all over the place. As Bo says, they are trying to corral it <a href="https://t.co/MuuB8Etkdh">https://t.co/MuuB8Etkdh</a> <a href="https://t.co/KBts4HGc5S">https://t.co/KBts4HGc5S</a></p>— FootballScoop Staff (@FootballScoop) <a href="">November 28, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Having served on a D-I Head Coach Search Committee for Head Basketball Coach, I can assure you that this is actually GOOD news. Not because having two search committees for head coach is good; it is not good. The exposure of this shit-show is good because it will embarrass those involved on both sides and force cooperation to some extent. I am sure the powers that be are not going to leave. They should, but they are not. Once they fired Long they exposed their agenda – total control and scorched earth approach. It was stupid. They will not admit it, but it was one of the dumbest moves in the history of Arkansas Athletics.
But what is done is done. The BEST news today was the hiring of a consulting firm to help with the search. This is not good news because it helps one side or the other. It is good news because it will expedite the search and impose privacy on the process. While I prefer an open process, this shit-show is beyond that now. There are coaches that will want to talk, but do not want to piss-off their current employers reaching out to other programs for a promotion. The search committee is not subject to FOIA. The search committee is virtually untraceable with plausible deniability for the University and the coaches they seek. This is a good thing. Ignore the Ole Miss outcome. They likely hired Matt Luke because nobody better wants the job going into NCAA sanctions, so they essentially hired Matt Luke as a 2-3 year interim coach until it blows over. We are not in that boat.
So, where are we today as I sit in my office typing this? Well, I think that Gus is a pipe-dream. He may come, but I cannot imagine that this is true if he makes the BCS. Then again, if he does hate some people at Auburn as much as some say, there is no bigger FU than to quit the team as they go to the BCS. Imagine the drama. But really, it is an irrational decision given that he is a coach and we have to assume his dream is to win a NC. But if he loses to Georgia, he may be back in the game. Maybe that is why the AD stated that she expected a hire within 7-10 days – after the SEC Championship game. THIS makes sense.
So, I still think it has been Gus since they fired Long. I also think they fired Long so that Gus could choose his AD as part of his demands to return to Arkansas and show they were “serious” about getting him back to Arkansas. I think our current AD recognizes this and is willing to hire Gus to show she is “on board” but is also preparing alternatives she would prefer if this blows-up. This is in her interest so that she could look like a savior and get the job permanently if she capitulates to Gus or has a reasonable back-up and saves the day at the end.
In the meantime, we have the shit-show. The NWA mafia and some other monied elites outside NWA seeking Gus and our AD conducting an official search in parallel. Embarrassing and predictable given the build-up, firing of Long, and immediate “I am in Charge” statement from the AD.
One final thought. STOP THE FIRE THE CHANCELLOR TALK. How much stupid has to be done before you figure out you need to stop suggesting stupid things. If you think it is a shit-show now, fire the Chancellor. That won’t just make us the laughingstock of ESPN, but will raise concerns about Academic integrity and institutional control at our campus. The NCAA would have every right to ask if our Athletic priorities are out of control and come look hard at us and our past practices. And if that happens, they will find something. Could be a grade change after some extra-credit was done. Could be free burgers at a local joint. Could be free drinks at a bar. But no program is 100% clean. It is impossible. The only way to stay clean is to keep the NCAA from having a reason to look.
More importantly, Accreditors would be interested in the institutional control. They are usually more concerned about the treatment of faculty, but, like at Texas A&M, they get very concerned when there seems to be political pressures outside the established charter of the school. This causes its own set of problems. So leave the Chancellor alone. Stop being reactionary. Instead, pause and think.
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